Killing for nothing
by flowerbird
Summary: Set in the pre-series to the show. Robin of Locksley is in the Holy Land. He has to participate in the massacre of around 3,000 prisoners taken hostage by King Richard after the capture of Acre. Robin is not happy. He considers it killing for nothing.
1. Chapter 1

This is a short story about Robin's time in the Holy Land. I am not sure that it could have happened, but I still had this idea in my head for a long time.

I thank Amaranthe Athenais for her help in mapping out scenes and for giving me historical information about the massacre and King Richard.

Of course, I don't own Robin Hood BBC and the heroes. Some heroes are introduced by myself.

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**Killing for nothing**

**Chapter 1**

**To kill or not to kill?**

After the siege and capture of the port of Acre, the nearly three thousand Saracen prisoners were locked in the vast, damp cellars deep below the city. King Richard the Lionheart decided to hold them hostage until Saladin paid ransom for them. He also demanded to give the Christians a genuine piece of the True Cross, the actual cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, which the Saracen had captured in earlier clashes with the crusaders.

Robin of Locksley, the Earl of Huntington, Lord of Locksley, Hero of Acre, and the Captain of King Richard's Private Guard, visited the prisoners several times in their dungeons. Every time his heart skipped a beat and pounded harder as he saw the pleading eyes and thin faces of the ragged and almost-starving condemned prisoners – men, women and even children. They were imprisoned in the terrible conditions that were hardly bearable for living. He pitied these people, though they were the King's enemies and the infidels.

Robin desperately hoped that Saladin would pay the ransom for them. However, he heard from his King that Saladin purposefully delayed the payment in hope that the large approaching Muslim army would allow him to retake the control of Acre. Time was passing, but nothing changed.

King Richard additionally demanded from Saladin to give him the list of the names of the important Christians held in captivity by the Saracens, but the Saracen refused. It enraged Richard as it showed that Saladin wasn't prone to any negotiations regarding the possible exchange of the prisoners. Robin again heard how Richard interpreted Saladin's actions as the delaying tactic. Richard insisted that the ransom payment and the prisoner exchange must take place within one month. Saladin again did nothing, and Richard turned beserk.

The King of England convened the Counsel of Generals. The agenda was the situation with the held prisoners. The King planned to march to the south in order to recapture Jerusalem, but it wasn't possible with so many prisoners in the train. Saladin's silence on the matter of the ransom resulted in the solid pressure on King Richard to speed up the resolution of the matter. The generals were supposed to vote and decide what to do with the prisoners.

Locksley hoped that they would decide to not to execute the prisoners or at least delay the execution. But the Council decided to massacre the prisoners so as to show the infidels that the King of England wasn't going to tolerate the Saracens' intransigence. The King of France laughed and agreed with King Richard that it would be a right course of action. Only Robin and another Captain – Robert de Beaumont, the Earl of Leicester and the Captain of the Second Column, King Richard's second grand favorite – voted against the execution of the prisoners.

Robin didn't approve of his liege's attempt to terrify his opponents into submission by executing unarmed men, children, and women. After the meeting of the Council of Generals, his King only smiled at him with a tight smile and made a joke that Robin had always been straightforward and truthful, saying that he valued Robin for those qualities. The King didn't comment on Locksley's opposite opinion regarding about the execution of the captives. Richard also didn't show any sign of his displeasure with Robin – neither in private nor in public, and it seemed that Robin didn't lose the King's favor and trust. Robin was grateful to the King to that.

Robin tried to reconcile himself with the thought that he would have to murder the unarmed Muslim people in the bloodiest massacre the Holy Land had ever seen in the past years. He told himself that it was his liege's will and he, his loyal soldier and subject, had to obey. He persuaded himself that there was nothing wrong in killing England's enemies and following the King's orders. The King of England was the anointed and crowned ruler of England, and his wishes were the law for his subjects. He told himself that it wasn't a sin to kill infidels under the canon law. After all, they came to the Holy Land to remove the infidels and retake Jerusalem for the Christians.

Yet, Robin felt very uncomfortable. His soul was troubled, his heart – heavy. He couldn't imagine himself killing unarmed men not on the battlefield or in the Saracen raids. He was accustomed to bloodshed on a massive scale. He killed many Saracens since they had arrived in the Holy Land. He lost the count of his victims. That haunted him in his nightmares.

His reputation of the brave Captain Locksley strengthened after his numerous acts of heroism during the siege and capture of Acre, when the storm of his arrows killed so many Saracens near the Gates of Acre that Richard's army passed through the city walls without many difficulties.

Taking lives of weaponless prisoners was different from killing on the battlefield. It was not the same as killing on the battlefield to survive and save your King.

For several days, Robin thought that he had forced himself to resign to the thought that the prisoners would die for a reason. He said to himself that the King knew what he planned to do. However, in several days, doubts returned to Robin's head with all the ferocity of a rabid wolf. He was no longer sure that he would be able to murder in cold blood all these prisoners. He had to kill them or at least command their killing, but he couldn't find any moral strength to do that.

Robin killed very many Saracen warriors. As he no longer believed in the holy reasons of the war, Robin killed for King Richard and his loyalty to his liege, for his fallen comrades, and for their victory to return home. Robin overstepped many boundaries and did a great deal of ruthless, brutal things in Palestine, but massacring these people was beyond his physical and mental abilities. There was no honesty in that slaughter. He wasn't sure that he would be able to live with a huge load of horrible guilt and remorse if he had raised his hand at those prisoners.

It was a late night, Robin and Much, his ever-loyal squire and friend since their childhood, were in Robin's tent. Robin stretched his body across his canopied, wide, wooden bed, with a headboard carved in an elaborate design. As the Captain of the King's Private Guard, Robin enjoyed much better living conditions than the guards had. He didn't have to sleep on a narrow cot or a straw mattress thrown on the sand.

Robin never cared about these few luxuries, which his status of the Captain of the Private Guard and King Richard's grand favorite brought to him.

Only Much was happy that their living conditions were much more convenient than many others had. Indeed, they had a spacious tent, some splendid pieces of furniture inside, warm woolen bedcovers, silk bed sheets and pillowcases, feather pillows for sleeping, one large Turkish rug with numerous soft, silk pillows spread on that rug. The good comfort in Robin's tent meant that Much felt closer to home, to England, and only that knowledge warmed Robin's heart.

Much slipped under the warm bedcovers and groaned in pleasure. It was nice to put his tired body on the bed after a long day. "Master, you have been strangely silent in the past days."

Robin blinked and stared somewhere into the emptiness. "It is nothing."

Much drew in a deep breath. "I know what you are thinking about."

Robin laughed with a cynical laugh. "You have a simple mind. You don't understand."

Much flinched and turned away from Robin's intense stare. "I am trying to help you."

For a long time, Robin didn't speak. He only stupidly stared at Much, his blue eyes piercing his friend's face. His eyes were vacant, deadly empty. "I am sorry," he broke the silence.

"You shouldn't be," Much said, trying not to show how offended he was. He cared for Robin very much. He understood everything better than Robin thought. He watched Robin slipping into the state of melancholy and blankness for many hours in the aftermath of bloody battles and Saracen raids. He was accustomed to witness Robin's mood swings and emotional withdrawal.

Robin moved his body and wrapped himself in the bedcover and curled up on his wide bed like a child. "_I killed very many people. I will never wash their blood from my hands. I will never forget the faces of many Saracen soldiers I slaughtered on the battlefield. I killed for the glory of God, for King Richard, and for our victory here. Then later I was disappointed with the war, and I killed only for the King and for our victory because only victory meant that we would be able to live this place_." He trailed off and sighed. "_On the battlefield, I never thought about being killed – I only killed, killed, and killed_," Robin murmured, his eyes wandering across the tent. He trailed off and swallowed painfully. "_But, the massacre is different_. _This is killing for nothing_." He brushed a lock of his unruly hair form his forehead. "I am not sure that I will be able to kill them."

Much sighed heavily. He understood his Master's train of thoughts. "These are the King's orders."

Robin tightly shut his eyes. "I am not sure I will be able to obey," he repeated in half a whisper. There was a note of despair and vulnerability in his voice.

"Master…" Much said and stopped himself.

Robin managed a wistful smile, which only darkness could see. "I will be alright, Much. Sleep."

Eventually, the horrible day came. It was the early morning hours of August 20, 1991. It was the day of the bloody and merciless execution. The sun was high in the blue, unclouded sky, and the heat was oppressing. The air was so warm and so heavy that it was impossible to breathe. The stark, sun-bleached landscape, sandy and spare, was around. Even at the early hours it glowered with the threat of the brutally hot day to come.

King Richard the Lionheart ordered the Private Guard and his other troops to gather at the small hill Ayyadieh, a few miles from the walls of Acre, at eight in the morning. Hugh III, the Duke of Burgundy, also commanded his soldiers to come there at the same time. As King Philip II of France had already departed from Acre, he left Hugh III, the Duke of Burgundy, in charge of the French troops. Hugh was King Richard's most trusted ally in the Holy Land.

King Richard and Hugh of Burgundy stood on the hill, watching their armies and discussing the execution. The soldiers assumed their formations, the English lining at Richard's side and the French at Hugh's. The soldiers were about to commit the bloodiest massacre during the Third Crusade aimed to recover the Holy Land from the Saracens under the command of Saladin.

Robin of Locksley stood near King Richard and other generals. He swept his eyes over the crowd of the prisoners and sighed. It was wrong. Those prisoners shouldn't be killed in cold blood.

The prisoners were unceremoniously thrown on the yellow-tinted sand. Each of them was bound tightly and forced to kneel with their heads extended. The prisoners were hemmed in on three sides by the ranks of the Christian army, and there could be no hope of escape.

The upcoming execution of these unnamed and helpless people made Robin's blood run cold in his veins and his heart freeze in dread. His heart jumped back into his throat at the thought that he would have to kill his with his Saracen curved sword.

Robin had never felt so helpless, so angry, and so guilty. He was angry that these people would die. He blamed himself for coming to the Crusade and for staying in the Holy Land for so long. He felt guilty of leaving Locksley and his people behind to do his duty to his King. He blamed himself for breaking Marian's tender heart so as he could be with the King on the Holy Crusade that turned to be so unholy.

He caught himself on the thought that he mistrusted the Christian faith as he couldn't understand how the King, the holy representative of God on Earth, could exhort Christian knights and warriors to slaughter the unarmed people, forgetting the code of chivalry.

Robin loved and respected King Richard. He was grateful to him for his friendship and the favor. However, at such fateful moments, he wasn't sure that he understood his King's motives for the Great Holy Pilgrimage. The thought that maybe his King had been misguided by Pope Gregory had crossed his mind not once.

Yet, Robin couldn't distrust the Christian faith and his King: it couldn't be Jesus Christ's teachings that were at fault, and it couldn't be the King's fault either. The evil did not come from Christ or King Richard, but from Saladin who manipulated the Christians to distract them from their march to Jerusalem. Still, Robin couldn't bring himself to kill the prisoners in cold blood. Even enemies deserved some mercy and respect.

As the Captain of the Private Guard, Robin of Locksley had to command the beginning of the brutal slaughter at King Richard's signal. Holding his breath, his heart in tatters, Robin stood straight, his hands at his sides. He solemnly observed his King conversing with Hugh of Burgundy, undoubtedly discussing the execution.

Robin's men stood around him, armed and ready to begin killing.

Robin inwardly shuddered in horror and repulsion. He did his best to put on a mask of indifference, keeping his true emotions to himself. He again tried to tell himself that he would kill for Richard and England. But the single thought that he would command his men to begin the execution made him vomit form repulsion to himself.

_The massacre was not killing for nothing – it was a hellish crime to murder unarmed, starving, beaten, haggard people_. _There was no glory and no honesty in killing all those people. There was no humanity. There were only brutality and pointless, dishonorable bloodshed_.

"For several weeks, we tried to negotiate the terms of the exchange of these prisoners with Saladin. We also required Saladin to return to us the genuine piece of the True Cross. However, the Saracen insulted us and ignored demands. There are rumors that the True Cross was sent to Damascus," King Richard's booming voice resonated. He spoke in Norman-French, his native tongue that he preferred to English.

Everyone's eyes were attached to King Richard.

"The Saracens also demonstrated that they don't care for their countrymen we captured at Acre," Richard continued, looking at Hugh of Burgundy, who smiled and nodded vigorously. "Saladin knows that we are in the presence of the greatest, most powerful army of the Crusaders the world had ever seen. The infidels know that they are doomed and that Jerusalem, the blessed site of Christ's passion, will soon once again be safe in Christian hands. To delay our march to Jerusalem, Saladin has been deliberately disregarding all our demands and attempts to negotiate. He doesn't wish to save these prisoners. Saladin's behavior is dishonorable."

His dark blue eyes stony, King Richard looked at the guards, who nodded in agreement.

Hugh of Burgundy stepped forward and stared at the prisoners. His face was expressionless, his gaze sodden with loathing towards the Muslims. "These infidels were given their chance to avow themselves to our true Almighty Lord – Jesus Christ. Instead, they kept their loyalty to their barbarian God. This loyalty is worth respecting it, but it also condemns them to be burnt in the nethermost fire." He raised his voice. "Hereby we offer them the last chance to take the path to redemption by converting to Christianity."

Robin held his breath, knowing that nobody of the prisoners would agree with Hugh's offer. These speeches were a theatrical act for King Richard and Hugh of Burgundy. The prisoners' fate had long been determined.

King Richard glanced at the prisoners. "They are unable to break the spell of their fake God. Their souls will be damned to be burnt in the hellfire for eternity." His gaze shifted to Robin. "Captain Locksley, we may start."

"Let's finish this." Hugh of Burgundy looked at the Captain of his Guard. "You may begin."

At Hugh's command, the French guards drew their weapons. They paused as they saw that something was not right among the English.

Robert de Beaumont, the Earl of Leicester, stood near the King of England and watched. He was happy that his men weren't supposed to participate in the execution. He didn't know how he would be able to withstand that if he had been ordered to kill so many weaponless people. He didn't envy the members of the Private Guard and, particularly, Robin of Locksley, his close friend. He knew Robin's true opinion about on the matter, and it coincided with his own view.

Robin of Locksley froze. His heart sank into his throat. A tight knot formed in his gut, a lump – in his throat. Duty, loyalty, and obedience dictated him to obey his liege, but he couldn't lose the last humanity he still had in his heart.

Robin solemnly stared at the King. His face had a detached and cold expression. He didn't move and didn't order the Guard to sheathe their swords and prepare other weapons for the slaughter. He couldn't bring himself to give that command. The words refused to slip from his tongue.

Sir James of Kent, Robin's second-in-command, stared at Robin, his eyes imploring his Captain to speak. But he saw that Robin was only physically with them and could guess Robin's thoughts. He observed Robin for several days and feared that his friend would do something he would regret later. It appeared that his anxiety was warranted.

"Robin, give a command," James whispered into Robin's ear.

Robin looked at James, his eyes full of pain, only turning blank in a split of second. "I cannot."

The guards were bewildered and simply stared at their Captain. Robin's closest friends suspected what happened in Robin's head; they were worried for him. It was well-known that King Richard had held Robin in the greatest favor, but Robin's actions could still easily condemn him to death.

"What is going on? We must begin!" Hugh of Burgundy shrilled. The voice sounded mildly annoyed rather than madly enraged.

"Captain Locksley?" King Richard called, his tone cold and unemotional.

"Robin!" James prompted. "You must." He gripped Robin's forearm. "Robin! Think what you are doing! Give a command! Speak! Snap out of your thoughts and doubts! Then take a sword and begin." He lowered his voice. "It might be viewed as insubordination or even as treason."

Everyone was silent. They waited. All the eyes were attached to Robin.

Robin pushed James away. He gave the King a dazed, absent-minded glare. Then his eyes flew to James. "Give a command, James, if you can. You are my second-in-command, and soon you will be the Head of the Guard once the King deals with me. If I kill them, I will be unable to live with this guilt. It is killing for nothing. I cannot. It is beyond my ability." He spoke quietly, but firmly.

"Robin, my friend, think more," James begged.

"Master! Master!" Much half pleaded, half lamented.

Robin didn't hear them. The Captain didn't react to Much's attempt to sober him as his squire clapped his hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin forced Much to release his grip and strode forward. He finally answered to himself whether he could kill or not the unarmed Saracen prisoners.

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Hope you liked it.

Please read and review. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disobedience **

Robin of Locksley made up his mind – he couldn't kill these people. If he killed them, he would be no better than a wild animal. Killing them for nothing, mercilessly and brutally, meant that the last drop of humanity in his heart and soul would evaporate. He couldn't overstep the line. He couldn't go against his conscience and honor.

Robin marched to King Richard and knelt to his liege. The guards stared at him in amazement. They began gossiping and discussing.

"Silence!" King Richard stated with authority. "Captain Locksley, you may speak."

Robin gracefully bowed his head and sighed. He prayed that his face would remain calm and raised his head. His pale blue eyes locked with the King's dark blue orbs. He spoke in Norman-French. "_My liege, I humbly apologize for my actions. I don't ask you to pardon me and even to understand me. I know that my behavior is to the great offence to you. I realize the consequences and willingly accept all of them on myself. I submit myself to your benevolent and fair judgment. I will accept any punishment for my disobedience, whatever it is death sentence, imprisonment, stripping of all the titles, lands, and honors, or anything you, milord, consider necessary and fair for my redemption_."

Still on his knee, Robin bowed and froze in the same position.

A long pause followed. The guards whispered. Many of them were openmouthed and gaped at Locksley's bold and honest speech.

Startled, Hugh of Burgundy waited for King Richard to speak, condemning the Captain's foolish behavior. Although he was much older than King Richard and spent many years in the war in France, Hugh had never seen something like that, especially from the King's favorite and a man of high standing in the King's army.

Robin felt a rising tide of panic fill his soul with mortal terror. He half expected that the King would order to arrest him right there. He tried to speak eloquently and clearly, putting as much humbleness, reverence, and devotion in his tone and words as it was possible. However, it wasn't enough to compensate for his crime – insubordination and, perhaps, even treason.

From the corner of his eye, the Earl of Leicester silently watched the King of England and Robin. Like everyone, he feared that Richard's Angevin temper would flare up, which could have had unpredictable and severe consequences. As he remarked that the King's eyes were everything but angry, composure imparted into his heart. If he knew the King well – and he did, there would be no harsh consequences for Robin. Robin could have avoided even public reprimands, if it was what Leicester supposed – the King's test of the humanity in Robin's heart.

"_Very well, Lord Locksley_," King Richard replied coolly. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes danced with imps of mischief. Robin didn't notice it as his head was bowed down. "_Rise and go to your tent. Take Much with you_."

Robin was at loss. Did the King dismiss him without an arrest? Will he be arrested later? He blinked and rose from his knees and looked at King Richard. As their eyes locked, Robin saw the strange blue fire in the King's gaze. Yet, he no longer felt as frightened as he was when Robin decided to stand against the King's order.

King Richard referred to him as _Lord Locksley_. Did the King already strip his position of the Captain of the Guard from him? Most likely, Robin was no longer than a disgraced nobleman at that stage. If the King addressed to him as _Lord Locksley_, maybe the King would be merciful and would simply send Robin and Much home in utter disgrace, for example for insubordination. Maybe Robin would be let keep his title and lands. It would be the best outcome, but he didn't dare to hope for that.

"_Milord, you may arrest me whenever you wish. I am always at your disposal_." Robin bowed again.

"_Leave, Locksley_," the King said sternly, but with a crooked smile on his lips. His eyes were not angry and cruel. There were curiosity and something else in his scrupulous gaze.

Robin nodded. "_As you command, sire_."

The Earl of Leicester's eyes met Robin's, and Leicester winked at Robin, showing him that it would be alright. The King noticed Leicester's signal and frowned at him. Richard shouldn't have been worried because Robin didn't understand the true sense of Leicester's wink.

Robin turned to face Much, whose face was as red as an apple. Much's eyes were full of fear and pain as he expected Robin to be imprisoned after his speech. Robin hurried to obey the King. He marched away from the King and the crowd of soldiers, not looking back. Confused and still frightened, Much trailed behind his Master.

After Robin and Much had disappeared from the hill, King Richard himself ordered the Private Guard to begin the massacre. The English and French guards sheathed their swords and strode forward to the prisoners. They were not allowed to kill them with arrows because wood, which was used to manufacture arrows, was a rare luxury in the desert. The guards used Saracen curved swords, broadswords, and axes for the execution.

"Humanity doesn't have a place in a war," Hugh of Burgundy told the King of England.

King Richard slightly inclined his head. "The Earl of Huntington won't agree with you, milord."

"Huntington did a dangerous and stupid thing today. He showed his disrespect to our holy war."

"Captain Locksley is a high-spirited young man, but he respects our war and his King," Richard said flatly.

"The soldier, the Captain of the Private Guard, has no right to do such things," Hugh snapped.

The King's lips lengthened in a wry smile. "We appreciate Locksley's boldness and honesty. We don't think it is a weakness. It is a rare ability to stand out everywhere, and Locksley has it."

Hugh chewed his bottom lip. He was also impressed by the boldness and challenge of Locksley's actions, but he, the bloodthirsty old warrior, didn't like them. "Sire, if I may ask a question, are you going to punish Huntington? He deserves it."

"Lord Locksley won't be punished. We will do nothing to him. He is and will be the Captain of the Private Guard," the King replied unhesitatingly.

"Sire, I know that you hold him in the highest favor, but he gave a bad example to your soldiers."

"We respect and value Locksley too much to let this small incident influence his standing at our court and our attitude to him."

"He showed ignorance of your orders."

"It was a kind of disobedience, but not disloyalty." The King shook his head. "Robin of Locksley is immensely loyal to us. He loves and respects us. But his heart is gentle, although he puts a shield over it and kills for his King and his country. His nature is just too chivalrous for a mere mortal to understand it. He couldn't kill unarmed prisoners, but he would have killed all of our enemies in any battle. He will die three thousand deaths to save his King. It is difficult to find a man as loyal to his King as he is. His loyalty can never be bought, and this is what we value the most."

Hugh of Burgundy heard many tales about Locksley's humanity as the Captain of Richard's Guard had saved Saracen women and children from being massacred after the raids on villages and towns, but he had never witnessed that himself. He had also heard about Robin's staunch loyalty, unbreakable fealty, and deep affection for King Richard.

"Then he is a rare man."

Richard smiled. "Robin is an unusual man. We have known this since our first meeting."

King Richard suspected that Robin wouldn't be able to order the guards to begin the slaughter. He expected Robin to do something unusual or reckless, and he was right. The King didn't send Robin away on any mission on that day because he wanted to test Robin how he would behave before the execution. Everything ended as the King anticipated. He didn't intend to punish Robin because he loved him and because he himself wanted to put him into that place.

Richard was greatly impressed with Robin's speech in front of him. He was secretly pleased that Robin had managed to keep some humanity in his heart even after the bloody battles he went through and won. The same was with the Earl of Leicester, who also voted against the execution of the prisoners. Richard was proud of Robin's boldness, chivalry, and honesty, but he would have never admitted that aloud, to someone else. He had never met knights, who were as chivalrous, honest, brave, loyal, fair, and human as Robin was. Robin was a unique man.

The King's heart was hardened in many battles. Locksley and Leicester's chivalry and humanity reminded him of what he himself had wanted to keep in his heart but failed. He loved Locksley and Leicester more like sons or brothers than his favorites. Richard especially loved in them all those features he himself didn't have or lost in bloody, cruel battles.

Locksley and Leicester's humanity made the King's heart beating faster and filled it with warmth. The Lionheart, the bravest among the Christian Kings, couldn't have revealed to the world that he hadn't considered humanity a weakness of a great warrior. Some things were to remain unsaid, and he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself.

The slaughter was appalling and relentless. At first, the male prisoners tried to withstand bravely, but some loudly begged in Arabic for mercy. Women and children were making hideous noises, wailing, groaning, and chanting the name of their false God. The guards ignored all the cries: there was no mercy for the infidels. The Saracen blood splashed and splattered, painting the yellow sand in crimson. The cries and screams of horror and pain hung over the hill.

Robin and Much didn't return to Robin's tent. They stopped rooted on the vantage point high on the battlements and silently watched the murderous slaughter.

The prisoners seemed like dolls that were ruined by disobedient and cruel children, who were deprived of their precious toys and wished to punish everyone in a sudden outburst of hot rage. The whole thing seemed to be a piece of macabre theatre.

The blood-splashed soldiers finished a row by row and began cutting and slicing a new row of the Saracens. Done with one row, the guards paused to clean the red filth from their swords with hands that were glistening dark red under the rays of the sun. Then they calmly began on the first victim in a new row.

One by one, the Saracens dropped dead, headless, neck still pumping blood, the head rolling a little way away, stopped by the executioners' boots. The easiest to kill were the children as they were rather often dispatched with a single blow.

Much threw up his breakfast and began crying. He swallowed his sobs over and over again. He saw only blood and dead bodies. His face turned red, his eyes – tear-strained.

Robin watched the massacre with empty and cold glare, his face carved from marble, as though it had been not a hideous nightmare, but something unusual he had never seen before. Inside, he shuddered, his heart bleeding, his blood burning with feverish rage from his helplessness.

Robin didn't know whom he could blame for terrible injustice – he didn't want to blame God or his beloved King Richard. He tried to shun out any thoughts about blaming and disapproval. _The King was the King, and his actions were beyond reproach and doubt by any subject. As the representative of God on Earth, the King answered only before God._ It was Robin's philosophy, and it didn't change with the execution of the Turkish captives from Acre.

Much vomited again as they saw how one executioner – the new young member of the Private Guard – missed completely the head of his victim, whacking into backbone to the laughter of the other soldiers. The unbearable pain coursed through Much's heart. He couldn't believe that such a cruel massacre could have taken place before his eyes.

"Much, turn around and don't watch," Robin advised, with a perfectly straight face.

Much stepped aside from where he threw up the last time. He stood with his back to the scene of the massacre in a distance. "Good idea."

Robin didn't swing around and observed. With every minute, he felt if anything slightly worse. "Too much blood," he murmured.

"Why didn't they use arrows? It would have made the prisoners' death less painful!"

Robin sneered. "Don't be naive, Much. We are not in Sherwood, but in the desert. There is not much wood here." He laughed bitterly. "Oh, our noble knights don't possess my deadly accuracy with bow. They cannot shoot better than I can. After the King had allowed me to leave, they had no choice and decided to use swords."

"Good joke." It was one of the few times when Much truly appreciated Robin's strange, dry humor. "Master, what will happen to you, to us?" he asked as he finally got a hold over himself, turned to face the execution, and gave a sideway glance to Robin.

"I don't know." Robin's voice was edged with chillness that made Much flinch.

"Will the King arrest you? Will he do something else?"

"Maybe." Robin took a deep, agonizing breath. "What has happened to the world? Why doesn't God stop this?" He said nothing about the King's willingness to get rid of the prisoners. "The more I think, the more I doubt that we should have come here. Now we are trapped in the godless world of indiscriminate blood and death, without any mercy and hope for atonement."

"Soon we will be in the cold cell. We will be executed. I will always be with you, master. I won't leave you alone in trouble. I promised near the grave of your parents that I would be at your side during the Crusade. We will never return home, to Locksley. You will never see Marian again. But we will die together if the King wants to execute us. I will ask him by myself to take my life if he condemns you for treason," Much blurted out.

"Much, shut up!" Robin lashed out at his friend. "At least we are not the part of all this horror and brutality." He glanced away. "Odd enough, I feel nothing. Only emptiness. I don't even care what the King will do to me." He closed his eyes.

"It is awful," Much muttered.

"Much, don't worry before we hear from the King. Maybe our liege will be merciful to me and will send us home in disgrace and shame," Robin allayed. "The King wasn't pleased with me today. However, he surely remembers what I did for him during the past years, since I had joined the Crusade. I saved his life many times. I won many battles. The King is always grateful and generous to those who are loyal to him."

"I hope against any hope, Master."

"We should return to our tent, Much. Let's obey the King and do at least this."

Much gave a nod. "Let's go. I hate this place. Oh, how I hate it!"

"Much, don't grumble!" Robin warned.

As Robin and Much disappeared, the slaughter went on and on. The screams of bleeding and dying people filled the air, sounding as though a hollow echo marking death. Those who were not dead after the first round of slaughter were slaughtered for the second time. Soon only many white lifeless bodies, leaking blood from many holes and resembling the carcasses of butchered animals, were all that remained from the prisoners.

Notwithstanding Robin and Much's concerns, nothing happened in the evening. Robin wasn't arrested. There was no announcement that he had been stripped of his position of the Captain of the Guard or any other titles.

On the contrary, on the same evening King Richard invited Robin and his second grand favorite – the Earl of Leicester, into his tent. The private dinner was served for them. They discussed their march to Jerusalem and Saladin's strategy to wear out Richard's troops. Nothing was said about Robin's disobedience in the morning.

The same happened in the next days. King Richard didn't change his attitude to Robin and showed him his highest favor like it had been before. The guards were amazed with the absence of the King's comments, but they followed the strategy of silence on the matter. Robin was the Captain of the Guard and the King's grand favorite, and many men simply thought that the King had valued and loved Robin too much to punish him.

Some of them secretly admired Robin's boldness and ability to stand for his principles at any cost. Others thought that he had been stupid as he had risked too much – with his life, his titles and lands, and his favor. Whatever their thoughts were didn't matter: King Richard didn't disfavor or even publicly reprehend Robin, and everyone accepted that nothing had happened.

Robin was shocked. He didn't expect that King Richard would be entirely ignorant of his recent transgression. He was grateful to his liege that he was forgiven. Robin knew that his case was exclusive. He wasn't punished only because King Richard had truly valued and loved him.

Robin's admiration for Richard increased. He loved his King even more because he knew that the King had understood his inability to kill those helpless men and spared him from the evil deed. After all, the King was the only man who understood grown-up Robin and offered him fatherly guidance he needed so much in his early adulthood.

While the King of England was able to order the ruthless execution of the Muslim prisoners, he also showed his mercy to his loyal subjects, who loved and respected him. The King's generosity towards Robin impressed Robin to the core, strengthening his loyalty to King Richard and England. He felt that he was in debt to his liege. He even felt guilty that he had put the King in an embarrassing situation as everyone had probably thought that Robin had been pardoned only because of the King's favor to him. And it was true – Robin didn't deny that.

Even if Robin didn't approve of all the King's decisions, he would have never questioned his liege and would always be at his side. He only hoped that their understanding with the King wouldn't be ruined by something. He hoped that in the future his liege would let him stay away from dark deeds, not washing his hands in blood of innocents. Robin swore that he would never betray King Richard and would stand for his King's life until his dying breath.

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Hope you liked it.

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